Exhausted Egypt blame schedule

The Pharaohs were totally outplayed by the USA

Beaten African champions Egypt have blamed tiredness for their disastrous defeat by the USA.

The Pharaohs were thrashed 3-0 in Rustenberg on Sunday night, and crashed out of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Italy were also beaten 3-0, by Brazil - and the USA go through to the semi-finals.

Egypt assistant coach Shawky Gharib said his players were exhausted.

"Our players were fatigued, we had injuries and we were under a lot of pressure," he said.

Egypt's performance against the Americans was in stark contrast to their thrilling contests with Brazil and Italy - which ended in a 4-3 defeat and a magnificent 1-0 win.

Some of Egypt's top stars - like BBC African Footballer of the Year Mohamed Aboutrika - have been playing almost constantly for years on end, as club and international commitments have merged.

Midfielder Hosni Abd Rabou, named player of the tournament when Egypt won the 2008 African Nations Cup, added: "Three games in six days was too much. But it's no problem, that's football."

Egypt now have to turn their attention to the urgent task of qualifying for the World Cup next year.

They are bottom of Group C with just one point from two games and host Rwanda in July in a qualifying match delayed because of their participation in the Confederations Cup.